The American Littering Epidemic: Not so Beautiful

One of my major pet peeve is littering. We pride ourselves for being America the Beautiful but what actions are we taking to remain that way? Although there are many solutions to eliminate littering, it seems that "littering persists and society is resigned to the fact that we have "no choice" but to settle for a littered environment." http://www.stoplittering.com.

This epidemic is prevalent in America and threatens our beautiful country and environment on several levels. One prevailing problem is "not everyone agrees on what is litter, especially organic matter and pet droppings"http://www.praguepost.cz

The Effects of Littering in America

These are interesting facts on how this epidemic has affected American's environment; they include:

Littering reduces property value because it sends a message that people do not care or take pride in their community. It also affects tourism in America.

In Georgia, the DOT spends 20 million a year on roadside trash while it could benefit other sources. With the state of America during these trying times, this epidemic not only threatens the beauty of America, the money could save many Americans from homelessness.

The several trillion toxic cigarette butts littered worldwide annually are responsible for fatal fires and the deaths of numerous mammals, birds and reptiles that eat them.

Litter attracts litter and is a public health threat, which can lead to an epidemic. Discarded syringes and other litter are breeding grounds for bacteria. Currently, America deal with enough epidemics, so preventable measures must be in place to keep our country litter free. http://www.stoplittering.com

It takes 20 to 1,000 years for a plastic grocery bag to breakdown in our environment.

An estimated 4 million bags litter the globe each year. In 1999, 14 million trees were cut to produce the 10 billion grocery bags utilized by Americans. http://daviscoop.com

Ten Primary Sources of Litter in America

Pedestrians

Motorists

Uncovered loads

Household refuse and disposal including animal scavengers

Commercial refuse and disposals

Construction projects